Victory! After widow's plea, SNP finally stops free bus passes for thug teenagers
Free bus passes will be removed from young thugs who cause trouble on buses following a Mail on Sunday campaign.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said people who abuse the SNP /Green under-22 bus scheme will have their passes confiscated or permanently removed.
It represents a victory for widow Susan Rollinson, who has been urging the government to remove passes from repeat offenders who disrupt bus travel.
The Mail on Sunday told how her husband, bus driver Keith Rollinson, 58, was killed by a 15-year-old yob at a bus station in Elgin, Moray, last year.
And we highlighted how the youngster was eligible for the Scottish Government travel scheme introduced in 2022 – which allows under-22s unlimited free travel on Scotland's buses – even though he had already attacked another driver.
The thug was sentenced to four years and four months in secure accommodation after admitting Mr Rollinson's culpable homicide.
Last month Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay wrote to SNP Ministers demanding the teenager does not receive another bus pass after his release from custody, when he will be aged around 21.
Now the SNP government has finally agreed to allow for temporary or permanent bans on bus cards for abusive passengers.
Mrs Rollinson, 62, of Elgin, said: 'I am so grateful to The Mail on Sunday and Russell Findlay for making this change happen. I cannot thank them enough.
'I can never change what happened to my Keith, but if this changes anything for another family, I am happy.'
The teenage killer – who cannot be named for legal reasons – attacked Mr Rollinson in February last year. The bus driver later died in hospital. In response to Mr Findlay's recent letter, Ms Hyslop confirmed bus passes could be confiscated from thugs.
She said: 'The First Minister set out the Programme for Government. This includes the commitment to suspend use of concessionary travel cards on a temporary and potentially permanent basis as a result of antisocial behaviour when using the card.
'Detailed work on the best mechanism for achieving this is under way, including robust impact assessments, the development of a behaviour code and what future legislation will be required.'
Ms Hyslop added: 'I have the greatest sympathy for Ms Rollinson and everything her family has been through.
'Bus drivers are too often impacted by the antisocial behaviour of a small minority of passengers.
'Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse and to travel safely on board public transport. Please pass on my condolences again to Ms Rollinson and her family.'
Last night Mr Findlay welcomed the change but said more clarity was needed over when the SNP would implement the new bans.
He said: 'While this commitment to finally do the right thing is very welcome, it's not good enough that the SNP are unable to say when it might happen.
'It appears they are making the process unnecessarily complicated. How difficult can it be to simply remove bus passes from killers and other violent thugs?'
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